Dogs on leads on public paths, please. (Sorry for the swears, I wouldn't normally but this was pretty hairy) - ThreadSky

ben.s91.media • 49 days ago

Dogs on leads on public paths, please.

(Sorry for the swears, I wouldn't normally but this was pretty hairy)

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Had this happen to me once. A Shepherd dashed at me from behind a parked car. The only thing that worked to my advantage was my hydraulic brake pads at the time would scream when I would brake hard. It startled the dog and he wiped out going into a full roll in front of me. Better the dog than me!

pedalingpast60.bsky.social•49 days ago

Glad you ended up okay. Not much reaction time there. Lucky the dog was speedy.

owdrider.bsky.social•49 days ago

15 years on from hitting a unleashed dog on a bridlepath and I still struggle with the after effects.
Had to quit my love of offroad riding because of it.

If anyone's dog is skittish around cyclists, runners, kids etc... On a lead please.

ben.s91.media•49 days ago

Oh wow, so sorry that happened. I'm not convinced that any dog is 100% under control, however they behave 99% of the time.

owdrider.bsky.social•48 days ago

After watching me, luckily, pick myself up of the floor the owner was screaming & shouting at me!
I guess at the time I felt OK so didn't pursue it. The whiplash kicked in a couple of weeks later.
2yrs of physio & sleepless nights.
It's just taken me another 2yrs to ease it again after a flare up.

ben.s91.media•48 days ago

Ach that's horrible.

owdrider.bsky.social•48 days ago

Always worth the swearing 😂👍🏼

fietsersteve.bsky.social•49 days ago

Yep. In the end I got an air-horn, stops them immediately, also works on dogs chasing deer. Not to everyone's taste though.

ben.s91.media•49 days ago

I like it. I quite like the idea of attaching one to our cargo bike at kid level, so they can do the honking for me. But I also know I would regret it very quickly.

fietsersteve.bsky.social•49 days ago

The first time I used it I looked behind me, it was so loud I thought it hadn't worked and had a HGV behind me. You would instantly regret letting a kid near it. 😁

nicklangley.bsky.social•49 days ago

But not those telescopic leads which mean the dogs are always on the bike side of shared paths.

plotfolk.bsky.social•49 days ago

The invisible ones! I cycle in our local park which is a shared wide path, and the dog is often the other side from the owner with a lead stretched across. I love dogs and really don't want to hurt one by strangling it.

ben.s91.media•49 days ago

Imagine if your last act on earth before a fatal bike crash was strangling a dog. NOBODY would be at that funeral.

plotfolk.bsky.social•49 days ago

I know, although my list is probably small anyway.
The only way I negotiate these moments is that most owners look like their dogs (or the other way round) it's like an adrenaline version of snap with real risks.

nicklangley.bsky.social•49 days ago

Yep, cyclists definitely below dogs in popular perception.

ben.s91.media•49 days ago

True! Although in this case that would have been better than nothing.

globaljukeboxer.bsky.social•48 days ago

In the last couple of weeks not one cyclist has ridden close past us on a path at speed from behind

So that was nice

Although in fact there were no cyclists at all

ben.s91.media•48 days ago

Do you keep your dog on a short lead on shared paths? If so we can talk about bad behaviour from cyclists.

globaljukeboxer.bsky.social•48 days ago

Who said anything about a dog?

ben.s91.media•48 days ago

You're jumping into a discussion about the behaviour of dog owners on shared paths, so I assumed you were a dog owner. Otherwise what's your point?

sturmyarcher3.bsky.social•49 days ago

twice fairly recently I've been taken down by dogs rushing out of the undergrowth (owners had leads in hand, unattached to dogs). Serves me right for trying to avoid Glasgow's homicidal motorists by using the towpath.

ben.s91.media•49 days ago

My wife came a cropper that way last year, ended up in A&E. Pretty much the first thing the dog owner said was "you were going a bit too fast, there's dogs off lead on this path" 🤦🏻‍♂️

sturmyarcher3.bsky.social•49 days ago

Yup, recognise that, 'you were driving a bike where it might be slippy', and 'the dogs are usually so good around bikes'. These in response to my suggestion that the leads they were carrying might be best used attached to their dogs.

ben.s91.media•49 days ago

YES, they're usually so good – you're the problem 😂

ben.s91.media•49 days ago

Btw shout out to me for not falling off the bike when the unhinged doggo hit me! My balance is generally terrible!

pedalingpast60.bsky.social•49 days ago

That was a bang bang situation! Whew!

lpfischer.bsky.social•49 days ago

Ouch - scary. Good job not crashing.

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